The 27-game winning streak is over, but that does not change much for the Heat. Miami remains the best team in the league, and now LeBron James is angry and motivated. No one would be surprised if they ran the table through the rest of the regular season to finish 67-15. That said, the Hornets have played really well lately as they have hosted many of the best teams in the NBA. The Heat are the sixth playoff-bound team to visit New Orleans in the past 10 days, and the Hornets stunned the Boston Celtics, Memphis Grizzlies and Denver Nuggets in a span of six days in the middle of that stretch. So does one loss begat more losses, or was Wednesday an abberation?

2. Los Angeles Clippers (49-23) at San Antonio Spurs (54-17), 8:30

The Clippers have more or less fallen out of contention for a top-two seed in the Western Conference, and they now are clinging to the No. 3 slot. That's a big one because there are five elite teams in the West, so the Nos. 4 and 5 seeds will be stuck with each other in the first round. The Spurs, meanwhile, want to hold on to the top seed in a close race with the Oklahoma City Thunder.

3. Utah Jazz (36-36) at Portland Trail Blazers (33-38), 10

There was a time, not too long ago, that these teams were both in the deep West playoff field. The Jazz can get back in it with a win against the Blazers, who probably are too far removed, sitting in 11th place with three games between them and the No. 8 Los Angeles Lakers.

4. Houston Rockets (39-32) at Memphis Grizzlies (47-24), 8

As with the Clippers, the Grizzlies have an imperative to win and avoid bad playoff positioning. Unlike the Clippers, they're stuck in fifth right now. The Rockets can pull to within half a game of the Golden State Warriors for the No. 6 seed with a victory.

5. Brooklyn Nets (42-29) at Denver Nuggets (49-24), 9

The New York Knicks are on a six-game winning streak, which has put the Nets in a position to where they probably can't win the Atlantic Division. But they still can and should grab the No. 4 seed in the Eastern Conference. The Nuggets have more hope for lateral movement as the West's No. 4.